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Topic: Vines for bees (Read 505 times)

I am in the midst of getting rid of old hedge bushes and replacing them with vitex. The way I am planting them to let me get to them for pruning is going to leave my back fence open. My house buts against an Air Force base parking lot. There is an 8 ft chain link fence separating my yard from the base.I live in north western Louisiana. What is a good covering vine that the bees will get good forage off of that has a decent flowering period?Thanks

There are lots of clematis' vines, both native and exotic, that will produce both flowers and nectar at different times of the year. if your fence is good and strong you might also want to look into hardy kiwi, as it is thick and produces fruit if you get a male and female, but the vines are pretty strong and need good support.

Brushwood, a member here, has a nursery in Georgia that specialized in vines. google gardenvines dot com. He is a wealth of information and very knowledgable about growing conditions etc. And also very friendly and responds to emails from the site really quickly. You might try giving him a pm or ask on his site.

ps. there's also a really cool plant finder page on his website where you can put in criteria like zone and deciduous or evergreen, flower color etc. and it gives you a list of plants! So fun!